We've all heard that "free advice is worth what you pay for it..."
Shakespeare put it a little more eloquently in King Lear, when the aging monarch admonished his daughter Cordelia, "Nothing shall come of nothing..."
And when it comes to distributing press releases online, I now know from first hand personal experience that "if you're going to play, it's best to pay."
But the good news is, you don't have to pay much. In fact, compared to the return you get, your cash outlay is extremely well spent.
Here's what I'm talking about.
Last March I distributed a online press release through PRWeb.com
I paid $1.00, even though PRWeb's actual minimum is $0.00.
Now, PRWeb tracks results. You can find statistics on how many people actually accessed your press release, opened the link, printed it out, forwarded it to someone else, etc.
I was pleased with numbers. The link to the release was opened 4780 times.
Pretty good, huh?
But wait!...as they like to say in all those infomercials you watch when you have insomnia.
I submitted a similar release Tuesday morning, August 23rd. I paid $80 for it.
By noon Wednesday morning, August 24th, the release had been "accessed" 41,090 times.
Plus, when you searched for the word "publicity" on Yahoo News, links to my press release came number two *and* number three.
In other words, for 80 bucks I got a chance to tell more than 40,000 people about the Publicity Pro website.
Plus, think about all the one way, incoming links I got that will help raise Publicity Pro's search engine ranking.
Not a bad return on my investment, wouldn't you say?
All things considered, it's a whole lot of bang for 80 bucks.
I'm not the only one who believes in the power of online press releases.A number of friends and colleagues have enjoyed similar success using PRWeb and similar services.
All of them would agree, free is good. Free is very good.
But there's another proverb that you've undoubtedly heard, and it applies to online press release distribution.
"To make money, you have to spend money."
As much as I hate to admit it, I guess it's true sometimes.
But here's the good news.
When it comes to reaping the free publicity an online press release can bring...
A little money goes a long, long way.
***
Resources:
Marc Harty has a free special report called "The 7 Deadly Sins Most People Commit When Sending Web Press Releases And How You Can Avoid Them" Available at http://www.strategictraffic.com/7sins
Also see Shari Thurow's article on the Publicity Pro website at http://www.publicity-pro.com/articles/online-publicity.htm
and Ted Kushner's article "Online Press Release Mistakes" at http://www.publicity-pro.com/articles/onlineprmistakes.htm
George McKenzie is a former TV news anchor and radio talk show host. During his 33 year broadcasting career, his work appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, ESPN and CNN. He currently helps people get publicity on radio, TV and in newspapers. George offers a free 7-part email "Publicity Crash Course" at http://www.publicity-pro.com
Some people are happy with just a business card. For... Read More
The single biggest, non-renewable asset you have is your time.... Read More
Postcards can drive a huge amount of traffic to your... Read More
You can make the sale. You know your core message.... Read More
There are basically two ways in which you can either... Read More
The biggest crime in small businesses today goes unnoticed by... Read More
Whatever business you are in, either online or offline, you've... Read More
Corporate marketing groups - especially bandwidth-challenged small-to-mid-sized departments - can... Read More
For centuries and most of the decades in the 20th... Read More
Did something catch your eye in a direct mailing this... Read More
How to Take Your Law Firm to the Next Level... Read More
With promotional items there are standards: t-shirts, mugs, note cubes,... Read More
In the last issue we looked at 5 reasons why... Read More
Here are 9 low-cost but highly effective marketing tips to... Read More
One of the keys to creating a successful business is... Read More
Whether you want to admit it or not, soap operas... Read More
You followed time-honored online marketing techniques to the letter: you... Read More
A brochure can be a great promotional tool, whether it... Read More
"Make money for taking surveys"," Cash for your opinion", "Make... Read More
Considered a vital link in a show's promotional plan, direct... Read More
When you want to win and woo new clients with... Read More
Can I share a secret with you?I love working out.... Read More
Have you ever wondered why the phones aren't ringing the... Read More
We all watch the commercials on TV. We hear them... Read More
Having a strong foundation enables you to build a thriving,... Read More
I bet you thought the movie "Daddy Daycare" was a... Read More
I'm reading Seth Godin's Permission Marketing and he brings up... Read More
Many people have asked me what was the secret to... Read More
In previous articles under "Meaning and Marketing", we have learned... Read More
There's no such thing as a captive audience--any of us... Read More
"If My Work is Good Enough, I Shouldn't Have to... Read More
Offering free and exclusive content to ezine publishers and webmasters... Read More
"There are those who get things done and those who... Read More
Articles submitted to online publishers bring your site new visitors... Read More
The best joint ventures are with people in your own... Read More
If you want to uncover a little secret about how... Read More
So how do you do it?Direct mail marketing. When it... Read More
The usual complaint from companies is that Marketing simply does... Read More
Have you clearly defined your target audience? These are the... Read More
Voice Mail is a classy name for "answer Machine". Problem... Read More
Think you can't afford to hire a copywriter? Think again.... Read More
Staying ahead of the marketing curve seems to be a... Read More
If you have been in business any length of time,... Read More
Measuring the benefit of your product or service means putting... Read More
Today's constant bombardment of marketing messages means your materials must... Read More
Many professional copywriters estimate that the headline contributes to 80%... Read More
It takes money to make money is an adage we... Read More
I was saddened to hear of the passing of one... Read More
Why give freebies?We have all seen freebies at trade shows... Read More
Although they are inexpensive and product fast results, online surveys... Read More
Turning a modest $100,000 annual turnover into $1,191,817 may sound... Read More
What would you do with 500, 1000 or more additional... Read More
Direct mail can be one of the most effective tactics... Read More
You can love it or you can hate it but... Read More
If an alien civilization from Mars was planning a friendly... Read More
While focused, strategic networking is usually the most efficient way... Read More
A church in my community provided me with one of... Read More
What do you do if your business, product or service... Read More
The buzzword these days is "relationship" marketing. Just what is... Read More
Copywriters that try to be clever, humorous, abstract, or use... Read More
When conducting strategic planning for any company -- online and/or... Read More
Writing and publishing a successful newsletter is perhaps the most... Read More
Certainly the newest earth quaking event in Internet Marketing insider... Read More
We all know we can pay a magazine or a... Read More
Special Requirements for Reprint: we ask only that... Read More
Sometimes, one of the most difficult things to teach beginning... Read More
Marketing |